WhenToBird

Aix sponsa · Anatidae

When Do Wood Ducks Arrive in Connecticut?

Adult male Wood Duck
Photo: Andrew Lai, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Wood Ducks reach Connecticut in mid February, are common by early March, peak in mid April (14% of checklists), and most are gone by early November.

When to look

First arrivalsFeb 15-21mid February
Common byMar 1-7early March
PeakApr 15-21mid April
Most gone byNov 1-7early November

Best: mid April. First arrivals mid February; most are gone by early November. Peak: on about 14% of Connecticut checklists.

  1. Janrare
  2. Febuncommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decrare

Darker months: more checklists report it. Outlined: peak month.

0%5%10%15%Jan 1-7: 1.1% of 18950 checklistsJan 8-14: 1.3% of 13676 checklistsJan 15-21: 1.0% of 13377 checklistsJan 22-31: 1.3% of 17004 checklistsFeb 1-7: 1.5% of 10218 checklistsFeb 8-14: 1.2% of 11568 checklistsFeb 15-21: 1.6% of 15916 checklistsFeb 22-28: 4.2% of 11413 checklistsMar 1-7: 6.1% of 10754 checklistsMar 8-14: 9.0% of 12051 checklistsMar 15-21: 11% of 12616 checklistsMar 22-31: 13% of 17801 checklistsApr 1-7: 13% of 13186 checklistsApr 8-14: 14% of 14428 checklistsApr 15-21: 14% of 14738 checklistsApr 22-30: 14% of 21753 checklistsMay 1-7: 13% of 22494 checklistsMay 8-14: 9.9% of 23363 checklistsMay 15-21: 8.6% of 20219 checklistsMay 22-31: 6.7% of 20778 checklistsJun 1-7: 5.9% of 12234 checklistsJun 8-14: 6.1% of 12491 checklistsJun 15-21: 5.9% of 10856 checklistsJun 22-30: 5.5% of 11964 checklistsJul 1-7: 6.1% of 9437 checklistsJul 8-14: 6.6% of 8599 checklistsJul 15-21: 6.8% of 8252 checklistsJul 22-31: 7.8% of 11329 checklistsAug 1-7: 8.2% of 8116 checklistsAug 8-14: 8.5% of 8051 checklistsAug 15-21: 9.5% of 8502 checklistsAug 22-31: 9.5% of 13673 checklistsSep 1-7: 10% of 9873 checklistsSep 8-14: 11% of 9735 checklistsSep 15-21: 9.5% of 10120 checklistsSep 22-30: 9.5% of 12543 checklistsOct 1-7: 8.1% of 10735 checklistsOct 8-14: 9.3% of 10869 checklistsOct 15-21: 8.6% of 10436 checklistsOct 22-31: 7.5% of 13808 checklistsNov 1-7: 6.3% of 10507 checklistsNov 8-14: 4.9% of 9827 checklistsNov 15-21: 2.8% of 9904 checklistsNov 22-30: 1.9% of 13396 checklistsDec 1-7: 1.3% of 8974 checklistsDec 8-14: 1.2% of 9468 checklistsDec 15-21: 1.2% of 11614 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.9% of 16616 checklistsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Share of complete checklists reporting it, by week (4 per month). Grey bars: fewer than 10 checklists, not counted.

Frequency is the share of complete checklists in Connecticut that listed the bird, 2016–2025. It is not a head count, and it follows where and when people go birding. How to read it.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
today
Second week of November

Each county is shaded by the share of complete checklists there that listed the bird, blended with the weeks either side. Darker is more often. It follows where people watch birds, not how many birds there are. How to read it.

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Where in Connecticut

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Windham CountyBest the second week of September · 235 checklists that week, 19,034 in all27%
  2. Litchfield CountyBest the second week of September · 1119 checklists that week, 69,766 in all27%
  3. Middlesex CountyBest late March · 1212 checklists that week, 39,919 in all21%
  4. Hartford CountyBest early April · 2079 checklists that week, 105,735 in all18%
  5. New Haven CountyBest late April · 5410 checklists that week, 139,721 in all16%
  6. Tolland CountyBest the second week of April · 958 checklists that week, 39,004 in all13%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Hatchaloosie ReservoirLitchfield County, best late August · 27 checklists that week, 200 in all100%
  2. Lake WhitneyNew Haven County, best late September · 20 checklists that week, 781 in all97%
  3. Aspetuck ReservoirFairfield County, best late August · 20 checklists that week, 714 in all95%
  4. White Memorial Conservation Center, Inc.Litchfield County, best late July · 40 checklists that week, 806 in all94%
  5. Woods Pond ParkFairfield County, best late March · 40 checklists that week, 634 in all93%
  6. Mill Pond ParkHartford County, best the second week of September · 20 checklists that week, 580 in all91%

Busy spots report more of everything; compare the checklist counts before you drive anywhere.

Best time of day

In Connecticut, the Wood Duck is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (11% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%12 am: too few checklists (325) to judge1 am: too few checklists (367) to judge2 am: too few checklists (488) to judge3 am: too few checklists (792) to judge4 am: too few checklists (2722) to judge5 am: too few checklists (9489) to judge6 am: 13% of 33657 checklists7 am: 9.4% of 62964 checklists8 am: 8.2% of 70645 checklists9 am: 6.3% of 64870 checklists10 am: 5.6% of 58827 checklists11 am: 4.9% of 51689 checklists12 pm: 4.7% of 45288 checklists1 pm: 5.0% of 44765 checklists2 pm: 5.2% of 44173 checklists3 pm: 5.8% of 41979 checklists4 pm: 7.8% of 33219 checklists5 pm: 9.1% of 24828 checklists6 pm: 8.7% of 15856 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (8126) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (1994) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (533) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (349) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (286) to judge12a3a6a9a12p3p6p9p
Share of checklists started in each local hour that reported it. It reflects when people go birding as well as when birds are active. Grey hours have too few checklists (under 2% of the state’s, or under 200) to judge.
Week-by-week table
MonthDays 1-78-1415-2122-end
January1.1%1.3%1.0%1.3%
February1.5%1.2%1.6%4.2%
March6.1%9.0%11%13%
April13%14%14%14%
May13%9.9%8.6%6.7%
June5.9%6.1%5.9%5.5%
July6.1%6.6%6.8%7.8%
August8.2%8.5%9.5%9.5%
September10%11%9.5%9.5%
October8.1%9.3%8.6%7.5%
November6.3%4.9%2.8%1.9%
December1.3%1.2%1.2%0.9%

Neighboring states

  • Rhode Island: arrives mid February, in the same week than Connecticut
  • Massachusetts: arrives mid February, in the same week than Connecticut
  • New Jersey: arrives late January, 3 weeks earlier than Connecticut
  • New York: arrives late February, 1 week later than Connecticut

Common questions

When do Wood Ducks arrive in Connecticut?
Wood Ducks reach Connecticut in mid February, are common by early March, peak in mid April (14% of checklists), and most are gone by early November.
When do Wood Ducks leave Connecticut?
Most Wood Ducks have left Connecticut by early November, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until late November.
When is the best time to see a Wood Duck in Connecticut?
The Wood Duck is reported most often in mid April, on about 14% of Connecticut checklists.
Where in Connecticut are Wood Ducks seen most often?
By county, Windham County, Litchfield County, and Middlesex County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Wood Duck (counties with at least 200 checklists).